Wingship
The Wingship would ultimately be a large form of Ekranoplane; an unusual class of aircraft that uses surface effect lift to support flight at a very low altitude. Though relatively efficient, conventional aerodynamic flight requires an aircraft to spend considerable energy in maintaining aerodynamic lift. Thus contemporary airliners seek relatively high altitudes where a reduction in air pressure increases aerodynamic efficiency relative to air resistance and jet engines generally operate more efficiently. But with the realization of the principles of surface effect lift –where a pressure differential between the top and underside of a structure is created by surface confinement of an air flow– some engineers realized that a higher potential energy efficiency was possible for vehicles that could exploit this alternative mode of lift, which came to be known as the Wing-In-Ground Effect or WIG –after the experience of pilots whose planes sometime resist landing as they approach a runway surface. Thus, as a branch of development off that of the hovercraft we are all commonly familiar with, there was devised a long yet obscure lineage of mostly experimental marine launched aircraft with short broad wings that could literally surf on the pressure wave created under them, ‘flying’ just meters off the surface and gaining great energy efficiency as a result –though maximum efficiency by this method has always favored vehicles of vast size. Soviet engineers in the mid 20th century advanced this technology the most, devising vehicles of great size culminating in the creation of the 540 ton 106 meter long KM, which came to be known by US military intelligence as the Caspian Sea Monster.' It was an experimental vehicle intended for the role of a naval fast attack and landing ship which could travel at airliner speeds and was of such huge scale it could host numerous heavy deck guns and large missile batteries while delivering huge cargos of troops and armament to shore.' The KM was sadly destroyed in 1980 and few of the vehicles developed by the Soviet program survived the transition to the post-Soviet era late in the century. Though their work was initially highly secret, many of the engineers in the Soviet ekranoplane program went on in the late 20th century to propose and design a vast menagerie of commercial vehicles based on this technology including cruise-ship scale liners that could speedily hop the ocean between continents. Unfortunately, the technology has been very slow to develop for a number of reasons. A key technical problem which has always plagued the ekranoplane is the very high energy needed at initial launch of the aircraft due to the excessive drag of water –a problem also common to sea planes but which they overcome easily because the power they need for flight is so much greater to begin with but which for the ekranoplane represents many times greater power than the vehicle would normally need in flight. Thus many ekranoplanes have featured a two-stage propulsion system where an array of engines assist take-off while being shut-down and becoming dead-weight for the rest of a flight, hampering efficiency at small vehicle scales. Relating to this is that jet engines have often been used for this take-off mode and have been placed close to the water, making them prone to frequent failure due to water exposure. Another problem with the ekranoplane has been the need to utilize titanic vehicle scales to approach their maximum efficiency, which makes them difficult to demonstrate commercially because of large speculative investment. Smaller demonstration vehicles prove the flight principles but cannot truly prove the efficiency benefits of the technology. The starting scale for superior efficiency is large commercial airliner scale. Only the Soviets have ever built vehicles of such size. But perhaps the greatest obstacle for the ekranoplane has been simple difference. The ekranoplane exists in a mode of operation between a sea and air vessel and has never been embraced by either transportation industry. Similarly, despite their great lead in this technology, the Soviet military was never able to realize any of its strategic military potential because neither airforce or navy would take responsibility for its use. Today we should understand enough about the technology of transportation in general to recognize the ekranoplane simply as a ‘fast ship’ class of marine vessel akin to hydroplanes and hovercraft. And yet the ‘image problem’ for the technology persists and only a single vehicle has, to date, come close commercial deployment; the Orlyonok, a turbo-prop driven design originating in the Soviet program as a fast troop carrier which was adopted in the post-Soviet era by the Volga Ship Yards for use as a commercial vehicle. Current status of the Orylonok is not clear but this may prove an off-the-shelf starting point for the Wingship development program. Ekranoplane technology presents a certain set of trade-offs but would still be attractive as a solution to Aquarius’ long distance transportation needs. The cost of airstrip construction based on PSPs is high and increases with the scale of aircraft one needs to support. Sea planes would seem the logical solution but, in fact, there are currently no sea planes in existence that can take-off from the open sea. The type of sea conditions sea planes can tolerate is a simple function of scale, as their flotation surfaces must present greater length and height than the average wave lengths and heights in order to offer a smooth enough take-off. Thus it takes a very large sea plane in relatively calm conditions to take off on the open sea. We lost all sea planes of that scale after WWII to the expansion of jet airliners. Simply because of their size, ekranoplanes would fill in this gap in capability, offering aircraft-speed transit while at the same time affording intercontinental ranges and vast cargo capacity based on the higher efficiency of this mode of flight. The likely form of the Aquarian wingship would be that of a very simple lifting-body structure –perhaps as simple as a very large rectangular airfoil or a ‘ray-like’ shape reminiscent of sting rays or manta rays. It would employ the unique approach of a space frame superstructure rather than conventional monocoque aircraft construction, affording it easier construction in an open-air environment and possibly a strength-to-weight benefit at large sizes. Like other Aquarian vessels, it would be designed for multi-use, featuring a large internal bay suited to small ISO containers, RoRo access using large side or front access ramps, and adapted on demand for different combinations of passenger and cargo support. Propulsion of the Wingship could be based on jet or turboprop engines top-mounted on the lifting body. The Wingship would also have the option to exploit its large scale as a means to employ renewable energy in the form of hydrogen, methanol, or possibly electricity used to power thermal-driven engines. To overcome its high take-off energy demand the Wingship may employ a radical approach; LOX rocket propulsion. Rocket engines have a potentially much lower mass-to-power ratio than jet engines and, since they have no air intake, are immune to marine conditions –hence the long history of marine-launched rockets. Military aircraft have long used disposable solid fuel rocket boosters to support the take-off of various large or over-weighted aircraft or the use of short runways. With relatively small light rocket engines and a reserve of cryogenic fuel just large enough to support the short term of take-off, the Wingship would be able to eliminate much of the dead-weight of large jet engine arrays. A small on-board hydrolizer and cryo-cooler would refuel these rockets between flights in locations not equipped to service these vehicles –possibly over a period of a day or two which would not be too much of an inconvenience for vehicles which operate more like ships than planes and could normally experience days between flights. For a vessel already employing liquid hydrogen fuel, this would be an even lesser issue, the liquid hydrogen being used to liquefy air as an oxidizer. Certainly, LOX is volatile but a relatively small volume of fuel would be used and would be completely consumed in take-off, thus presenting much less risks than one might have with a large rocket vehicle. This technology would also offer a useful engineering introduction to rocket propulsion, aiding future spacecraft development among the communities of TMP. Because of the scale of the Wingship, it is likely to be a development of late phases of marine colony development –possibly having to wait until Equatorial settlement is well established. This would be a very sophisticated vehicle to engineer and develop and would require a significant infrastructure among TMP and Foundation facilities to realize. But if successful it could obsolesce the EcoCruiser and possibly supersede the Aquarian Airship in transit importance The Following Section Submitted by HV-Research: HV-Research seeks to present the case of WIG-vehicles that can operate from and to coastal airports, several of which serve the airline industry around the world. The WIG-vehicles will need to include retractable land gear and the runways at most coastal airports would require sloped extensions to sea level. These vehicles could operate short-haul passenger service on routes such as Wellington - Auckland at New Zealand, Kingston - Montego Bay at Jamaica or Rome West - Palermo in Italy, consuming about 40% of the fuel of an equivalent size of commuter aircraft. Large WIG-Craft that include lifting body designs as mentioned in the previous section could also operate between appropriately modified coastal airports such as Hong Kong, Inchon (S Korea), Kanzai (Japan), Dabolim (Goa - India), Boston (USA), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and several others. While many WIG builders duplicate the wing profile of large birds that can glide close to the water surface with wings extended for considerable distance, birds' wings perform a wide range of flight related tasks other than near-surface gliding and can change profile according to the required task. The flight wings of WIG-planes, vehicles and craft are required to perform one main task and that is to maintain a certain elevation near the surface, at travel speed. By not being required to perform other tasks better suited to birds' wings, WIG-designers are free to experiment with alternative wing configurations, layouts and designs intended to keep the craft airborne at a desired elevation above water surface. Given that wind speed is lowest near ground level, WIG-vehicles that 'fly' at low elevation near ground surface into a headwind consuming far less fuel than an aircraft flying carrying an identical weight of payload and flying in the identical direction, except into far more powerful headwinds that are typical at high altitude. Hovercraft Operational Precedent: Prior to the construction of the railway tunnel under the English Channel (the "Chunnel"), hovercraft provided fast ferry service between the UK and France, also between the UK mainland and UK offshore islands (like the Isle of Wight). The English Channel is also one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and it was possible to schedule hovercraft to cross those shipping lanes without incident, courtesy of some innovative traffic control strategy. Computer navigation would allow Wingships to cross oceans and remain several miles away from ships that cross their paths. British style navigation control could assure that Wingships safely approach ports and ocean side terminals. Updating Ekranoplan Technology: At the time the USSR under politburo chief Leonid Breshnev cancelled the Ekranoplan development, it had flown a few test/demonstration flights/voyages and was in need of further refinement. At the time of the program cancellation, the USSR was getting itself embroiled in conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan. The Ekranoplan did 'fly' at an elevation of 10-metres above the surface of the Caspian Sea, except pilots discovered that wingtips touched on water during turn maneuvers, reducing craft stability. Many different researchers and WIG-technology hobbyists located in many different countries have since designed and built working scale models of possible future WIG-craft configurations, some that involve tandem and compound wing layouts. These layouts are intended to 'fly' at higher elevation than the Ekranoplan and be able to perform turn maneuvers without wingtips striking the water surface. Recent Wing Research: Some recent wing-related WIG-research and development from Flyboat in the UK has produced a WIG-craft capable of 'flying' at an elevation equivalent to 30% of aerodynamic wing chord, meaning that a scaled-up version of the flyboat built with a wingspan of 25-metres (82-ft) and mean aerodynamic chord of 25-metres should be able to 'fly' at an elevation of 7.5-metres (25-ft) above water, allowing for a tilt angle of up to 30-degrees during a turn as the craft 'sails' or 'flies' above a smooth water surface. A mega-scale WIG-craft built to a length of over 100-metres may involve both an equivalent wingspan and mean average chord of over 60-metres, yielding a possible 'flight' elevation of 18-metres (59-ft) above seawater. Enthusiasts and hobby builders have built small-scale WIG-craft with innovative wing designs that show possible future promise. The innovations include tandem wings, multiple-scoop wings and compounded wing configurations intended to increase the strength of the twin counter-rotating cyclones below the wings, so as to maintain flight stability and increase flight elevation, possibly to 35% to 50% of mean average aerodynamic chord, that may coincide with wingspan. Enthusiasts and hobby builders are involved in ongoing development and testing of scale model wing concepts. Optional High Elevation Capability: One recent development in WIG wings has been the addition of pilot-controlled flaps at the trailing edge of the wings, that over a short duration greatly increases the the volume of air that swirls in the counter-rotating cyclones under the flight wings. This feature allows the craft to 'jump' to many times its economy-level flight elevation, usually over a short distance as increasing flight elevation over any extended distance also increases fuel consumption. Some designs of WIG craft (from South Korea) can 'jump' from an elevation of 5-metres to as high as 23-metres, mainly to avoid small sailing craft. The option of being able to temporarily raise flight elevation allows the WIG-craft to make turn sharply while keeping wing tips well above water, also allow WIG-craft modified with landing gear to touch down on and take off from coastal runways. While a WIG-craft with 25-metre wingspan and 25-metre chord can fly economically at an elevation of 5-metres above water, there is the option of burning slightly more fuel to fly at an elevation of 7.5-metres . . . . . or consume the same amount of fuel as a commuter aircraft and 'fly' continuously at an elevation of perhaps 15-metres. A full-size commercial WIG-craft with a wingspan and chord of 60-metres may 'jump' to an elevation of up to 40-metres over a short distance, such as during departure and arrival at coastal commercial airports, also to 'fly over' small maritime craft at coastal regions. Lift-Off From Water: Propeller and water-jet driven maritime craft have achieved sufficiently high speeds to cause a seaplane or a wing ship to lift off. Towing cables with high tensile strength and rapid release couplings could connect between high-speed maritime towing craft and winged vessel. A cubic unit of seawater has 870-times the mass of the identical cubic unit of air at atmospheric pressure . . . . . to increase efficiency of fluid-based propulsion, increase the mass of the jet-stream or water-jet-stream and the decrease the relative speed between that stream and the speed of the vessel. The high-speed maritime tow vessel may use a hydraulic battery, flywheel energy storage or ultra-capacitor storage to deliver 2 to 4-minutes of maximum thrust to propel both maritime vessel and towed winged vessel to lift-off speed, when towing cables release from winged vessel and its on-board engines take over and provide 100% of propulsive thrust Commercial Airline Economics: In commercial aviation, fuel accounts for over 50% of the cost of short-haul flights that involve small aircraft. Even on the longer routes that involve large jetliners, fuel is still the dominant cost. A 100-seat wingship that operates a short-haul journey between 2-coastal airports would be cost competitive against short-haul jets, consuming about 35% of the fuel of an equivalent size of commuter aircraft. A commercial freight carrier operating distant coastal airports could burn half the amount of fuel as a freight version of the 747 used by UPS or by Fed-Ex. There will be need to negotiate with authorities at coastal airports in many nations to have ramps built between airport runways and maritime sea level, to allow wingships to arrive on coastal runways. Being able to access existing terminals allows wingship owners to establish services between such airports, where they would establish ticket offices for passenger transportation services . . . also gain access to existing air-freight transfer facilities. Hybrid WIG-aircraft Technology: The basis of a hybrid 'flight' vehicle that combines wing-in-ground (WIG) effect concepts with aircraft technology would be retractable landing gear. While WIG-craft exclusively lift off from and touch down on a water surface, replacing seaplanes in many applications, the WIG-aircraft hybrid would 'fly' using WIG-wings and touch down on and lift off from paved coastal runways. A WIG-aircraft hybrid design may be based on the design layout of the ANTONOV AN-225 with its high wings and landing gear built into the fuselage, except that the high wings would be replaced by WIG-wings secured to the fuselage at lower elevation similar to the wing attachment location of the Boeing. The use of upper and lower compound WIG-wing design has potential to generate powerful twin counter-rotating tornadoes under the (lower) WIG wings. While the Hybrid WIG-craft would fly/sail at an elevation of perhaps 10-metres above seawater, its wing design would include trailing-edge flaps that would enable a flight elevation of perhaps 80% of the measurement of the wingspan (or chord). The 'jump' capability would be activated upon approach to a coastal runway or on approach to a narrow channel such as the Strait of Gibraltar or the strait between Sardinia and Corsica, where the craft could fly or sail at an elevation of 40 to 50-metres above sea level. With a tail fin height of 25-metres, a flight elevation of 5-metres would allow the craft to pass under the main span of Costa e Silva bridge at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil . . . . also under the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco (USA) Commercial Coastal Airports: Commercial passenger and freight transportation involving WIG-wingship technology would benefit from being able to operate between major international coastal airports that would provide all the necessary services and infrastructure to sustain both passenger and freight operations. There are several commercial coastal airports around the world that appear to be accessible to wingships. There will be need for sloped ramps to allow wingships without 'jump' capability to touch down and lift off from coastal airport runways, twin-rows of buoys on ocean that extend from runways (to delineate extension as seaplane runways) and also submerged optical technology to guide wingships to runways after sunset. Coastal airport list includes: PACIFIC REGION: Seoul (Incheon Airport), Tokyo (Japan - Narita International Airport), Osaka (Japan - Kansai International Airport), Hong Kong (International Airport), Macau (international Airport), Sabah (Malaysia - Kota Kinabalu airport), Auckland (NZ), Wellington (NZ), Panama City (Tocuman Airport), Sydney (Australia - Botany Bay), San Francisco (snall WIG-craft has to sail under Golden Gate Bridge and across bay), Panama City (Aeropuerto de Tocumen). Possible options at Los Angeles (USA) and Singapore. Short-haul service possible between Auckland and Wellington with extended service to/from Sydney. With Hong Kong as the hub, service possible to/from Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney and Wellington. INDIAN OCEAN: Doha (Qatar - Hamad International Airport), Marmagoa (India - West Coast - Dabolim International Airport), Phuket (Thailand - Phuket International Airport), Maldives (India - Male International AIrport), Mombasa (Kenya - Moi International AIrport - small WIG craft only), Kedah (Malaysia - west coast - Langkawi International Airport MEDITERRANEAN REGION: Coastal airports at Tel-Aviv (Ben Gurion Airport), Beirut, Rome (Leonardo da Vinci airport), Venice (Marco Polo airport . . . craft has to sail through narrow channel), Genoa, Nice - Cote d'Azur (Southern France) and Barcelona (Spain). Other coastal airports with direct access between sea and runway include: Tangier (Morocco - Atlantic side access), Gibraltar (North Front Airport), Palermo (Sicily), Ajaccio (Corsica - France), Kerkira (Corfu - Greece), Iraklion (Crete - Greece), Salonica (Makedonia Airport - Greece). Trans-Mediterranean service possible linking these coastal airports. Coastal airport at Le Havre in north-western France, in English Channel. ATLANTIC REGION: USA (Boston - Logan airport), USA (New York City - JFK airport), Jamaica -(Kingston - Manley airport, Montego Bay - Sangster Airport) ), USA (St Petersburg, Florida . . . craft has to enter bay), Bermuda (Kindley Airport), Tobago (Crown Point Airport), Barbados (Bridgetown - Grantley Adams Airport), Cayman Islands (Owen Roberts Airport), Curacao (Willenstad - International Airport), Aruba (Oranjesadt - Princess Beatrix Airport), Bonaire (Kralendijk Airport), Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo Airport), Cuba (Santiago de Cuba airport), Costa Rica (Port Limon Airport), Colombia (Cartagena - Rafael Nunez Airport), Brazil (Rio de Janiero - Galeao Airport - tight turning required, wing ship has to pass under Ponto Presidente Costa da Silva bridge; possible option to use military coastal airport for large WIG-craft). Trans-Atlantic service possible between east coast USA with Boston as the hub and Mediterranean coastal airports; Trans-Caribbean service between island coastal airports with sloped ramps at between sea level and runways. Domestic Service Using WIG-Hybrid Craft: Airport authorities in several nations may consider the installation of gently sloping ramps between sea level and coastal runway to allow for introduction of domestic transportation services between major coastal cities, using WIG technology. The list of nations includes: - New Zealand: service between Auckland and Wellington international airports with possible extension to Sydney, Australia where 'jump' capability would allow for higher elevation flight upon arrival at and departure from Sydney - Jamaica: Kingston (Manley Airport) and Montego Bay (Sangster Airport) - Italy: Rome (Leonardo da Vinci Airport) and Palermo (Falcone Barsolina Airport) - Brazil: Rio de Janeiro (Santos Dumont airport) and Florianopolis (Hercilio Luz airport) - France: Nice - Cote d'Azur (Mediterranean) and Ajaccio (Corsica) - India: Marmagoa (Dambolim Airport) and Trivandrum, also services between mainland coastal airports and offshore coastal airports at Laccadive and Maldive islands - Dutch West Indies: service between Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire Operation of domestic service allows manufacturers to further develop and refine the technology, providing the basis for development of large-scale versions that cross oceans. Airports near the Coast: WIG-wingships that provide service to/from airports located near the ocean coast would require 'jump' capability to allow for increased flight elevation over short distances (40-metres flight elevation near the coastal airport compared to 10-metres flight elevation across open ocean). Singapore (Changi Airport . . . railway-type traffic signals used at level/grade crossings plus retractable gates/barriers that lower across road required to halt traffic on Nicoll Drive and /or on Changi Coast Road when wing ships arrive and depart), Los Angeles (International Airport . . . railway style traffic signals and retractable gates/barriers required on Coast Road for wing ships to arrive and depart), Nassau (wing ship has to cross over 2-roads), Istanbul (wing ship has to cross over 2-main roads plus railway line . . . may need to extend runway above roads and railway line to accommodate wing ships). Caracas, Venezuala (Simon Bolivar Airport . . . craft has to cross over 1-coastal road), Brindisi, Italy (craft has to cross over 1-coastal road), Reykjavik (International AIrport . . need to cross 1-road), Le Havre (France . . . . need to cross Chemin Rural 45), Belfast (George Best City Airport . . . cross over AIrport Road), Liverpool (John Lennon AIrport . . . wingship has to pass under 2-bridges on River Mersey) Bahrain (Bahrain International Airport - cross over Avandous Road), Muscat (Oman - Seeb International AIrport cross over 18th November Street), Penang (Malaysia - Penang International AIrport - cross over coastal road), Kuala Terengganu (Malaysia - Sultan Mahmud Airport - cross over coastal road), Sabah (Malaysia - Labuan Airport - cross over coastal road), Trivandrum (India - west coast - Thirouvananthaparam airport - cross over coastal road), Chittagong (India - cross over coastal road), Andaman Islands (India - Port Blair - needs extended runway - craft has to cross coastal road) To further enhance operations, seaplane runways delineated by parallel rows of buoys may extend from coast out to sea, as extensions of land-based runways. Operators of maritime craft would be required to avoid the seaplane runways when wing-ships arrive and leave from coastal airports. Extended Length Runways: At several European airports such as at Amsterdam and Leipzig, runways are built on bridges that cross over roads and over railway lines. That precedent may be applied to coastal airports where in the future, runways may be extended on bridges built over coastal roads and coastal railway lines. The runways would extend to gently sloping ramps to sea level. Candidate runways include international coastal airports at: Singapore, Malaysia (Penang and Kuala Terengganu), Turkey (Istanbul - Ataturk Airport - to provide access to/from Sea of Marmara), Venezuela (Caracas), Oman (Muscat), Bahrain, India (Trivandrum, may be possible to build elevated extension to runway at Mumbai, France (Le Havre) and USA (Los Angeles) Military Coastal Airports: Several nations have built military airports adjacent to the ocean, including the United States (San Diego, San Francisco, East coast - Chesapeake Bay), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and South Africa (entrance to Saldanha Bay, north of Cape Town). In some nations, there may be scope to negotiate with governments to designate a runway at military coastal to service a small number of large trans-oceanic size super WIG-craft that carry international freight, possibly even passengers. In Ottawa, Canada, military aircraft and civilian aircraft sometimes share the same runways and go to or originate from very different terminals. At Rio de Janeiro, the military runway provides easier access to/from ocean than the runways at the civilian international airports that is located inside a bay, requiring the WIG-craft to pass under a bridge. Military Airport north of Cape Town: The only suitable coastal airport in Southern Africa that could be modified to service large WIG-craft, is located north of Cape Town on the north side of the entrance to Saldanha Bay. That coastal airport is located at the crossroads between the Americas and Asia-Pacific region, providing direct over-the-sea access to Eastern coastal airports at Qatar (Doha), India (Dabolim Airport, Marmagao), Australia (Sydney), New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington), Hong Kong, Macau, Japan (Osaka - Kansai Airport and Tokyo - Narita Airport), South Korean (Incheon, west of Seoul). Western coastal airports include Rio de Janeiro, Jamaica (Kingston and Montego Bay), Venezuela (Caracas), USA (Boston - Logan Airport). European airports would include Morocco (Tangier), Spain (Barcelona), Italy (Rome, Genoa), France (Le Havre and Nice - Cote d'Azur), Lebanon (Beirut), Greece (Crete - Iraklion), Israel (Tel Aviv). Assisted Lift-Off from Runways: Linear electric motors are lightweight, can provide extreme tractive capability and can travel at extreme speed, hence their application in Maglev trains. There may be scope to install linear electric motor technology at coastal airports, to assist heavily loaded aircraft and wing ships to accelerate along runways during take-off. Linear motors may operate from electrical energy storage located at or near commercial terminals, essential to avoid brown-outs on the commercial electrical grid. A large aircraft or winged vessel could briefly require 100MW of power to accelerate from standstill to lift-off speed. Electrically assisted lift-off using linear repulsion motors embedded in the runway would reduce hydrocarbon energy consumption and allow very heavy vessels to rapidly become airborne, while still on/above a coastal runway. There may be future scope to install pairs of railway lines on either side of main runways, to support a carrier technology for large-scale WIG-craft. Linear motors built into the railway trucks of bogies would rapidly accelerate and decelerate the assembly that carries arriving and departing WIG-craft. Upon arrival of a large WIG-craft, a computer-controlled rail-borne assembly would be parked at the seaside end of the coastal runway. It would accelerate to keep pace with and remain below an arriving WIG-craft that would then touch down on the assembly, with rail mounted linear motors providing retarding force to sow the WIG-craft. The rail-borne assembly could carry the WIG-craft to a terminal for off-loading. Alternatively, rail lines could extend from coastal runway, beside gently sloping ramp between sea and runway and extend below sea surface. A large WIG-craft may touch down on water then propel itself or be towed toward submerged extension of runway . . . . . from where rail-borne assembly would carry the WIG-craft out of water, up the slope and along the paved runway to a terminal. For departure of large WIG-craft from modified coastal airports, rail-borne assembly would carry the vehicle from terminal building to main runway, where linear motors would accelerate assembly and WIG-craft to lift-off speed. At that speed, on-board propulsion would further accelerate the WIG-craft and linear motors decelerate the rail-borne assembly. Maglev Runways: Further research could explore methods by which to combine Maglev train technology with wingships on coastal runways. Maglev technology could elevate the wingship, with linear repulsion motors accelerating the craft during lift-off, assisting on-board engines. Upon arrival at a Maglev equipped coastal runway, Magnetic levitation would carry the weight of the wingship as linear repulsion motors apply retardation force to slow the craft. Wingship could ride on onboard wheels to and from terminals, or airport wheel-sets may carry the wingship between Maglev runway(s) and terminals. Thorium Nuclear Propulsion: Toshiba presently offers a liquid-cooled micro nuclear reactor of 10MW output. Recent research in China revolves around high-temperature, helium gas cooled reactors that process thorium. A heat exchanger between between helium pipes and atmospheric air could active externally heated gas turbine engines that drive propulsion fans or (geared) propellers, technology based on the floating planetary gear systems developed by Pratt & Whitney for aeronautical geared fan-engines. Thorium can be repeatedly reprocessed for long-term energy conversion. Government officials may be more accepting of thorium reactors travelling at 60 to 100-ft above sea level, than flying at 30,000-ft or 10,000-m. Trans-Atlantic (East-West) Service: A wing ship could feasibly travel at half the speed as a commercial airliner, the savings resulting from reduced fuel consumption and increased carrying capacity. The eastbound freight service by Fed-Ex and UPS is especially attractive as a 6:00 PM departure from an east coast American airport results in an early morning arrival at European airports. An early evening departure of a slower moving eastbound wing ship would translate to a mid-morning arrival at any of Barcelona, Nice - Cote d'Azur or Rome. A westbound commercial flight of 8.5-hours duration may leave Paris at noon and arrive at NYC at 2:30 PM local time, with jet lag impacting passengers who may have difficulty sleeping on daylight flights. A westbound wing ship could leave Rome at 11:00 PM local time and after an 'overnight' journey of 12.5-hours, arrive at Boston or NYC at 6:00 AM local time. Passengers more easily doze off to sleep on extended length, north - south overnight flights. Passengers travelling trans-Atlantic journeys aboard wing ships may suffer less 'jet-lag', having left Europe late in the evening and arrived at an American terminal early in the morning, ready to begin a new day. Wing ship service could attract business travellers Future Development: Gaining access to coastal airports offers the promise of greatly reducing fuel consumption during lift-off from a paved runway instead of a water surface. The craft would be airborne as it leaves the airport runway on its journey above water, greatly improving comfort for passengers who would be spared the pitching motions of a craft encountering coastal sea waves. Airline companies are motivated to provide transportation service while reducing fuel expenses. They would be prospective future customers for wingships that could travel between coastal airports around the Mediterranean Sea and the Asia-Pacific region. Navigation Technology: Future wing-ships that travel across the ocean will require multiple navigation technology that identify the location and direction of other maritime vessels. The technology would combine radar and GPS technologies and assist pilots (also assist automatic computer pilots) to negotiate around stationary and mobile obstacles. Such technology would be especially crucial in the vicinity of maritime terminals as well as offshore near coastal airports, where floating buoys that include lighting technology, would delineate both seaplane runways and extensions of land-based runways on which wing-ships with retractable wheels may touch down and lift off. Navigation technology would also need to include new regulations for maritime craft that sail in the vicinity of coastal airports. Peer Topics *Solar Ferry *Solar Wingsail Cruiser *EcoCruiser *Relay Archipelago *EcoJet *Aquarian Airship *Aquarian Personal Rapid Transit System *Aquarian Personal Packet Transit and SuperStore *Aquarian SE Downstation *Circum-Equatorial Transit Network Parent Topic *Aquarian Transportation Phases Category:Transportation